June 22: Ukrainian and Russian forces remained entrenched in eastern Ukrainian battlegrounds going into Wednesday, a day of commemoration in both countries to mark the anniversary of Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.

LONDON, April 21: In a show of strength two months into its assault on Ukraine, Russia test-launched a new nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile which President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday would make Moscow's enemies stop and think.

KYIV/LVIV, Ukraine, March 17: U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday called Russian leader Vladimir Putin a war criminal in comments the Kremlin said were "unforgivable" as it insisted the war in Ukraine was "going to plan" amid talk of compromise at peace talks.

As the Kremlin’s response to the protests has shown, Putin and the state are one and the same. That makes toppling him a particularly difficult proposition.

Putin created a system that places him at its center. In Russia, that is where all responsibility is to be found.

MOSCOW, Dec 30: Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with President Donald Trump on Sunday to thank him for information that Putin said helped Russia foil terrorist attacks over the New Year’s holiday, the Kremlin said.

As with Putin, overreach seems to be Xi’s default position nowadays, judging by his handling of the trade war and aggressive behavior toward China’s neighbors

LONDON, June 17: Prime Minister Theresa May is considering a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at this month’s G20 summit in Japan in an effort to begin a thaw in relations before a new British leader comes to power, The Times newspaper reported.

BEIJING, June 15: Chinese President Xi Jinping celebrated his 66th birthday on Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who Xi considers a close friend and who gave Xi ice cream as a present, Chinese state media reported.

MOSCOW, June 6: Chinese President Xi Jinping presented two pandas to Moscow’s zoo at a ceremony with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, in a gesture the Russian president described as a sign of deepening trust and respect between the two powers.

Your daily dose of missed important news of the day.

President Vladimir Putin has opened his talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying that Russia would like to help support efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear standoff.

Your daily dose of missed important news of the day.

SEOUL/MOSCOW, April 24: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un crossed the border into Russia on Wednesday by train, Russian media reported, for his first trip there aimed at galvanizing support from President Vladimir Putin while nuclear talks with Washington are in limbo.

SEOUL, April 23: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will visit Russia for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean state media confirmed.

MOSCOW, Feb 20: Russia will respond to any deployment of intermediate-range nuclear weapons in Europe by targeting not only the countries where those missiles are stationed, but the United States itself, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

Amid falling living standards and increasing global hostility, Putin’s televised promises simply don’t fool anybody anymore

Trump has done little to improve relationship, despite some diplomatic overtures, including several invitations for Putin to visit the White House

Putin’s image as a steward of Russia’s greatness and a symbol of hope is slipping away. His tried-and-true tactic is not a practical long-term strategy

KREMLIN, July 31: Thousands in Russia protested pending pension reforms over the weekend that would raise the retirement age to 63 for women, 65 for men. Tens of thousands of Russian protested across the country on Saturday to demonstrate against a controversial pension-eligible age hike in parliamentary debate.

KREMLIN, July 28: Washington's use of payment systems for political purposes undermines the US dollar as a global currency, said Russian President Vladimir Putin at the BRICS Summit in South Africa.Putin added that Russia has no intention of getting rid of the US dollar, as the currency is widely used in international trade and business.

WASHINGTON, July 20: President Donald Trump has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to Washington this autumn, the White House said on Thursday, a daring rebuttal to the torrent of criticism in the United States over Trump’s failure to publicly confront Putin at their first summit for Moscow’s meddling in the 2016 election.

Vladimir Putin has earned a reputation for keeping other world leaders waiting. Since 2003, the Russian leader has arrived late for numerous high profile meetings with heads of state, dignitaries and prominent officials.

HELSINKI, July 17: Standing side by side with Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump refused on Monday to blame the Russian leader for meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, casting doubt on the findings of his own intelligence agencies and sparking a storm of criticism at home.

HELSINKI, July 16: U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin arrived at the presidential palace in Finland for a long-awaited summit on Monday after Trump blamed Washington’s own past “foolishness and stupidity” for bad relations.

HELSINKI, July 16: President Donald Trump blamed the United States, not Russian election meddling or its annexation of Crimea, for a low-point in U.S.-Russia relations hours before a summit with Vladimir Putin that played out against a backdrop of fraying Western alliances, a new peak in the Russia investigation and fears that Moscow’s aggression may go unchallenged.

The world will be watching when US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Helsinki, but host country Finland is used to it.

HELSINKI, July 15: The outcome of the first summit between the unpredictable first-term American president and Russia’s steely-eyed longtime leader is anybody’s guess. With no set agenda, the summit could veer between spectacle and substance.

KATHMANDU June 7:  On June 4, Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a bill on counter measures against the US and its allies.

MOSCOW, May 7: Vladimir Putin has taken the oath of office for his fourth term as Russian president, in a ceremony in an ornate Kremlin hall glimmering with gold leaf.

Russians have voted for less social and political freedom and more economic stagnation. They have decided to go back in time, to a future that they once dreaded

MOSCOW, March 19: Vladimir Putin rolled to a crushing re-election victory Sunday for six more years as Russia’s president, and he told cheering supporters in a triumphant but brief speech that “we are bound for success.”

YEKATERINBURG, March 18: Vladimir Putin’s victory in Russia’s presidential election Sunday isn’t in doubt. The only real question is whether voters will turn out in big enough numbers to hand him a convincing mandate for his fourth term — and many Russian workers are facing intense pressure to do so.

Earlier this week, British Prime Minister Theresa May announced in the House of Commons that Russia was “highly likely” to have been involved in the attempted murder of a former Russian spy and his daughter.

The entire intervention in Syria, including the mercenaries, has been primarily about defending Russian national interests

MOSCOW, Mar 1: President Vladimir Putin set a slew of ambitious economic goals, vowing to boost living standards, improve health care and education and build modern infrastructure in a state-of-the-nation address Thursday.

Vladimir Putin's election supporters are using provocative pictures of female models in underwear in the latest bizarre tactic to fend off apathy in next month's Russian presidential poll.

Russian Presidential election. If Vladimir Putin, Russia’s longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin, wins a fourth term as president and serves until its end, he will near 25 years in power – almost as long as the revolutionary dictator’s 29-year rule.

Russia’s election officials have registered eight candidates for the presidential election, including President Vladimir Putin.

GENEVA, Dec 14: The U.N. Syria envoy has called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to “have the courage” to push the Syrian government to accept new elections and a new constitution.

Republica Infographics

MOSCOW, July 31: Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday the United States would have to cut its embassy and consulate staff in Russia by 755, heightening tensions between Washington and Moscow three days after the U.S. Congress approved sanctions against Russia.

WASHINGTON, July 19: President Donald Trump had another, previously undisclosed conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Germany this month.

HAMBURG, July 8: Fresh from his lengthy head-to-head encounter with Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday was meeting with a long list of world leaders, including British Prime Minister Theresa May and President Xi Jinping of China, as he wraps up his second trip abroad.

MOSCOW, June 17:  Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that new U.S. sanctions on Russia will damage ties between the two countries.

WASHINGTON, Jan 8: Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an effort to help Republican Donald Trump's electoral chances by discrediting Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential campaign, U.S. intelligence agencies said in an assessment.

The Russian leader Vladimir Putin has earned a reputation for keeping other world leaders waiting, and even royalty and the Pope can’t force the Kremlin chief to stick to a tight timetable.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Syrian opposition groups and the Syrian government had signed a number of documents including a ceasefire deal that would take effect at midnight on the night of Dec. 29-30.

WASHINGTON, Dec 17: President Barack Obama on Friday strongly suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally authorized the computer hacks of Democratic Party emails that American intelligence officials say were aimed at helping Republican Donald Trump win the Nov. 8 election.

MOSCOW, Dec 1: President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia hopes to normalize ties with the U.S. and join efforts in the fight against international terrorism.